Wouldn't YOU like to know..! LOL just kidding...I'd like to hear them too.:drinkup:

(I wish I could "invent" a tighter route...that's my biggest problem right now but I'm working on it!)

MileHigh

03-16-2009, 07:44 PM

Shindaiwa Speed Feed Trimmer Head.

here is a link to a vid of me loading 24 feet of line in to a speedfeed head in my garage:

Saves me hours and hours by the end of the mowing season.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KGEZa2_SH7o

ALC-GregH

03-16-2009, 07:53 PM

I made a lifting attachment for my Scag. It works along with my floor jack. Simple but very effective. I can jack the mower on my concrete floor higher then I could by using the gate on the trailer. All just to swap out blades. :)

MileHigh

03-16-2009, 08:03 PM

I made a lifting attachment for my Scag. It works along with my floor jack. Simple but very effective. I can jack the mower on my concrete floor higher then I could by using the gate on the trailer. All just to swap out blades. :)

one thing i have used and alot of people do here is if you have alot of "open" weed eating areas take the sheild off your trimmer so that you can have about 1 1/2 to 2 foot of line out vs 10 inches... but i wont do it because i only have maybe one cliend that the pros would outweigh the cons on... but if you have a spare trimmer and a few clients with lots of open trimming areas (such as a big ditch you cannot get a mower on) this would save some time but get ready to cuss at some rocks lol

4 seasons lawn&land

03-16-2009, 09:36 PM

impact wrench for blade changes for sure!

My favorite... STOP forgetting **** at the house!

joshua

03-16-2009, 09:37 PM

get your routes as tight as possible and don't go out of your way just to get a new account. also know your lawns and whats the fastest and easiest ways to maintain them. other than that you'll have to learn it on your own.

Daily Lawn/Landscape

03-16-2009, 09:43 PM

Backpack blower over a hand held. Done in seconds over minutes.

weasel

03-16-2009, 11:24 PM

Warn winch in shop for lifting mowers, gas up at the end of each day(we have a 500 gallon tank at shop), start early 5-6 hrs work before lunch we tend to get slow after lunch, trimmer guards off for normal use, Warn battery powered winch on trucks, GPS in trucks and google earth routes,lots of extra blades(sharpened),toolson each truck especially air tank, some extra parts for equipment on work truck(air filters, belts, tire,springs,fuses,) use rain days to do maintenence or if you have a guy thats not 100% let him to shopwork, have each acct planned out before you arrive don't waste time getting on & off truck, bill cust. monthly don't get stuck talking to them each week this is valuable time, we have a 20 gallon tank for 2 cycle with a 6 ft hose and nozzle this is real handy(no spills) if you have 1 mowing and 1 trimming start away from each other so your not getting in each others way works for 3 man crews as well, discharge plate for mulch beds .

MileHigh

03-16-2009, 11:45 PM

Backpack blower over a hand held. Done in seconds over minutes.

yup...and the biggest baddest backpack you can find at that.

tyler_mott85

03-16-2009, 11:49 PM

one thing i have used and alot of people do here is if you have alot of "open" weed eating areas take the sheild off your trimmer so that you can have about 1 1/2 to 2 foot of line out vs 10 inches... but i wont do it because i only have maybe one cliend that the pros would outweigh the cons on... but if you have a spare trimmer and a few clients with lots of open trimming areas (such as a big ditch you cannot get a mower on) this would save some time but get ready to cuss at some rocks lol

If your client squawks about you trimming with-out a shield on explain and show them that the trimmer guard is just there to protect the user. Which it is. If it was designed to protect the house and stuff in front of it wouldn't the guard be the other way?

If you need a reasonable midway solution to removing your guard completely do like I do. Just take a hack saw and cut the part of the shield off where it bends down. this will allow the line to go past where the old knife and guard was but still keeps a portion of the shield on to keep stuff from flipping up in your face and keeps the customer questions down.

Another free trick I've learned is the first thing I do when I buy a new piece of 2-cycle equipment is remove the Spark-Arrestor.

I don't live in California.

tls22

03-16-2009, 11:51 PM

Have the guys fill the weed wacker heads on the way to the next job, not at the lawn. When the weed wacker runs out of string, go grab the other one. Dont waste the the time at the lawn to just a finsh a small part.

MileHigh

03-16-2009, 11:53 PM

Have the guys fill the weed wacker heads on the way to the next job, not at the lawn. When the weed wacker runs out of string, go grab the other one. Dont waste the the time at the lawn to just a finsh a small part.

Im trolling you know...lol

you need some speedfeed heads Tim.

check out my vid in post three. 24 feet of line.

tls22

03-17-2009, 12:09 AM

Im trolling you know...lol

you need some speedfeed heads Tim.

check out my vid in post three. 24 feet of line.

sweet....lol im being trolled :drinkup::cool2:

topsites

03-17-2009, 12:39 AM

A lot of my techniques only save time every once in a blue moon, but when they
do they can save a whole day, as I like using techniques that save my tail first.

Things such as having padlocks on the trailer gate, the keys to which hang on to the same keychain that hold
the keys to the truck's ignition, hence forcing me to pull the keys out of the ignition every single service stop.
> This in turn forces me to put the gear shift lever in Park.
I have no other choice, if I want the mower off the trailer then I need the keys to unlock the gate,
and I can't pull them out of the ignition unless the transmission is left in the Park position.
It's also another step towards theft prevention.

And so on...

ALC-GregH

03-17-2009, 08:40 AM

A lot of my techniques only save time every once in a blue moon, but when they
do they can save a whole day, as I like using techniques that save my tail first.

Things such as having padlocks on the trailer gate, the keys to which hang on to the same keychain that hold
the keys to the truck's ignition, hence forcing me to pull the keys out of the ignition every single service stop.
> This in turn forces me to put the gear shift lever in Park.
I have no other choice, if I want the mower off the trailer then I need the keys to unlock the gate,
and I can't pull them out of the ignition unless the transmission is left in the Park position.
It's also another step towards theft prevention.

And so on...
did you have a truck pop out of Park and roll down the road on ya at one point? :D That stuff is common knowledge really.

I made the mistake of leaving the mower key (yes the simple stamped out keys) at home AFTER driving 30 minutes one way to start one of my routes. The bad part, I dug through everything I had with me and couldn't find something to turn the switch. Man I was pissed. Now I have keys laying in the tool box on the trailer, in the console of the truck, on the floor of the truck, on my key chain and already in the mower. By god I won't be without again. LOL

Littleriver1

03-17-2009, 10:08 AM

Always have 2 sets of truck keys.

ALC-GregH

03-17-2009, 10:27 AM

this may sound crazy but I lock the keys in my truck, that way I never lose them. I then use the outside number pad thingy to unlock the doors when I'm done. In the last year I probably had the keys out of the truck 2 times. Really it's a bad habit but I never have to worry where my truck keys are at. In most cases, I just leave them in the ignition as my equipment is ON the persons property and not along the road. When I feel I need to lock everything up on a job, I simply lock everything up.

Sammy

03-17-2009, 10:35 AM

Use a hand held blower on the smaller jobs where a backpack blower would be a PITA.

grassaholic

03-17-2009, 10:51 AM

Use a hand held blower on the smaller jobs where a backpack blower would be a PITA.

I've never thought of using my backpack blower as being a PITA. I don't see what's so hard about starting the unit, putting it on my back, and blowing stuff off. I'd rather do that than use a handheld any day.:drinkup:

AI Inc

03-17-2009, 10:55 AM

Always have 2 sets of truck keys.

I always keep another set in the glovebox of every truck.

jg244888

03-17-2009, 11:37 AM

I always keep another set in the glovebox of every truck.

that doesn't do much when your locked out

HulkXD

03-17-2009, 11:43 AM

Keep a truck key in your wallet. Unless you leave you wallet in the truck.

Littleriver1

03-17-2009, 12:09 PM

Keys,keys,keys, My wife has a thing about locking me out of the house. If I go out to check the mail and she leaves for work while i'm out, she will lock me out. I've had foster kids lock me out just because they think it's cool to see me run to all the doors. I think my dog locked me out once but I cann't prove it. I have keys hidden all around out side.

weasel

03-17-2009, 08:33 PM

All this talk about locking doors, locking trailers, taking keys out of mowers, makes me think how lucky we are down here not to have to do that. I never lock the truck or equipment and heck I bet those keys are rusted in the mower ignition.